Sunday, September 26, 2010

Gallup, NM

Wow, what a totally amazing day.

I was up early and on the road by 7:30 AM, knowing that I was going to lose an hour and had a longer drive than usual. The road was wide open, fabulous tunes on the radio thanks to an amazing station out of Flagstaff (not often do I hear Cat Stevens and Bob Seger) and the weather was blissfully cooler than the heat I have been experiencing. Nothing like the experience of cruisin' down the highway at 70 mph, good music and not a care in the world. The only blip was a grape Crush in a glass bottle that broke and left me mopping up purple liquid from the floor and rugs. No problem, nothing taking away from this day.

The other main issue were all the Indian "trading posts" along the way that advertised rugs, jewelry, blankets, etc. I finally had to stop at the last one, Indian City, and bought myself a taco and a Kachina coloring book. All the Kachinas in the book are named with descriptions of their attributes and what colors should be used. An example: " Mastof Kachina - He has white spots on his cheeks representing stars - white hand prints on his chest and arms and he carries a boomerang shaped throwing stick". I am excited to spend time with these Hopi Spirit Beings.

As I was coming into New Mexico the land became unbelievably beautiful, painted mesas and huge boulders that looked like the gods of Mt. Olympus. I was overwhelmed with emotion and just started crying. There must be some part of me that has longed to return to me from this land and I wonder how long I will live here. It has felt like a homecoming.